Development of the Rescue System for Seismic Disasters

In 1995, the Hanshin–Awaji great earthquake killed 6,430 people mostly due to collapsed houses. Mitigating casualties from earthquakes has become an important topic in preparedness discussions. Many factors are related to building damage such as casualties, time, human characteristics, regional characteristics, and rescue influence.

For this map, Kanagawa Prefecture was analyzed macroscopically on two issues—damage estimation and rescue correspondence—factors that have influenced rescue activities in past earthquake disasters. The damage estimation was performed, which clarified the areas where rescue equipment should be stockpiled. The final part of this study is to clarify the relation between time and the probability of survival to assist in deploying the correct rescue tools efficiently.